[From the Papyrus of Nebseni (British Museum No. 9,900, sheet 7).]

THE CHAPTER OF KNOWING THE SOULS OF KHEMENNU (Hermopolis).

Egyptian Literature — Part 64

“The goddess Maāt is carried by the arm at the shining of the goddess Neith in the city of Mentchat, and at the shining of the Eye when it is weighed. I am carried over by it and I know what it bringeth from the city of Kesi,(76) and I will neither declare it unto men nor tell it unto the gods. I have come, being the envoy of Rā, to stablish Maāt upon the arm at the shining of Neith in the city of Mentchat and to adjudge the eye to him that shall scrutinize it. I have come as a power through the knowledge of the Souls of Khemennu (Hermopolis) who love to know what ye love. I know Maāt, which hath germinated, and hath become strong, and hath been judged, and I have joy in passing judgment upon the things which are to be judged. Homage to you, O ye Souls of Khemennu, I, even I, know the things which are unknown on the festivals of the month and half month. Rā knoweth the hidden things of the night, and know ye that it is Thoth who hath made me to have knowledge. Homage to you, O ye Souls of Khemennu, since I know you each day.”

Egyptian Literature — Part 64

[From the Papyrus of Nu (British Museum No. 10,477, sheet 18).]

Egyptian Literature — Part 64

THE CHAPTER OF COMING FORTH FROM HEAVEN, AND OF MAKING A WAY THROUGH THE AMMEHET, AND OF KNOWING THE SOULS OF ANNU (HELIOPOLIS). The chancellor-in-chief, Nu, triumphant, saith:

“I have passed the day since yesterday among the great divine beings, and I have come into being along with the god Khepera. [My] face is uncovered before the Eye, the only One, and the orbit of the night hath been opened. I am a divine being among you. I know the Souls of Annu. Shall not the god Ur-ma pass over it as [he] journeyeth forward with vigor? Have I not overcome(?), and have I not spoken to the gods? Behold, he that is the heir of Annu hath been destroyed. I, even I, know for what reason was made the lock of hair of the Man. Rā spake unto the god Ami-haf, and an injury was done unto his mouth, that is to say, he was wounded in [that] mouth. And Rā spake unto the god Ami-haf, saying, ‘O heir of men, receive [thy] harpoon;’ and the harpoon-house came into being. Behold, O god Ami-haf, two divine brethren have come into being, [that is to say], Senti-Rā came into being, and Setem-ansi-f came into being. And his hand stayed not, and he made his form into that of a woman with a lock of hair which became the divine lock in Annu, and which became the strong and mighty one in this temple; and it became the strong one of Annu, and it became the heir of the heir of Ur-maat-f (_i.e._, the mighty one of the two eyes), and it became before him the god Urma of Annu. I know the Souls of Annu, namely, Rā, Shu, and Tefnut.”